Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1887-1890, 1887-12-22
DRAWN BATTLE.
GAMEsT HEAVYWEIGHT CONTEST
OF THE GENERATION.
An American and an Englishman Fight
LOG Rounds for the I%nterna-
tionaI Championship ON
French Soil. +- @

Baltimore, ana Jem Stlltn Vi LhSianu,
for a diamond belt and the championship
of the world, took place on the island OF
Saint Pierre. in the river Seine, France, to-
day. in the presence of about 100 persons.
G. w. Atkinson, referee, performed his
duties with satisfaction to all concerned.
Smith was seconded by Jack Baldock and
Harper, and was attended by Jem Howes
and Dick Roberts. Kilrain was seconded
by Charley Mitchell and Ned Donnelly,
and was attended by Charley Rowell.
Messrs. Fleming and Harding acted as
time keepers and umpires. The party in
cluded lord de Clifford, marquis of
Q@ueensbury, Sir Hugh Drummond, Hon.
NJ. Sandvs and captain Leicharber. An
excellent ring was pitched. kilrain
fought at 1874 pounds and Smith at 1870.
Smiths castor was thrown into the ring
and was Immediately followed by Kill
rains beaver. The fight commenced at
2 P. Nj. and it was
A LIVELY AND ENERGE ETC BATTLE.
For the first three rounds there was a
quick give and take, with close sparring.
In the fourth round Kilrain got in, giving
Smith a smash on the ear, which appear
ed to stun him. In the wrestling, which
formed a feature of a number of rounds
Smith was no match for the American.
He had the worst of every fall, kllraln
each time coming down hard on his pros
trate foe.
THE BETTING WAS ON SMITH
at the start, veering to kilrain later. In
the 18th round Kilrain hit Smith on the
left ear. causing a swelling the size OF an
egg and knocking him down. kilraln's
right eve was closed. The fight varied
until the 10Th round, when Kilrain led I'M
til the 10Th. knocking down Smith three
times, and being knocked down himself.
Smiths ear swelling burst, to his great
relief. After the 18th round Smiths
strength returned, and he held his own.
He had the best of the last six rounds,
both men fighting as quickly and as
strongly as at the start. The referee Or
dered tina. the fight be resumed tomor-
row, but later Smith and Kilrain express
ed mutual respect for each other, sWore
eternal friendship and agreed to consider
the fight a draw and pledged each other
to fight Sullivan. The general opinion is
that the fight was the gamest heavy
weight contest of the generation. Smiths
seconds chose for him a corner which
gave him the benefit Of fighting with his
back to the sun, which was shining bril-
liantly.
AN EVEN BATTLE.
Smith worked with splendid pluck,
took his punishment without wincing.
Although knocked clean down in the
eighteenth round, his smuggling blows
began to tell heavily or Kilrain's right
eve. which became rapidly bunged up,
much in the fashion in which Sayers
treated Heenan in the famed fight long
ago. As a set-of kilrain got well home
with his left on Smiths ear, which soon
syelled up to an abnormal size, and had
to be lanced by his seconds. kilrain's
back heeling at the finish Of each round
told heavily on Smith, but certainly up to
the fortieth round, when the men had
been fighting fifty minues, there was
very little to choose between them.
Before the fight began odds of three and
four to one were freely laid on the Eng
lishman, but all betting stopped as the
fight narrowed down to a question of en-
DURANGO. Not once or twice, but many
times it looked like
AN EASY WIN FOR KILRAIN,
but the indomitable pluck of the burly
Englishman, who invariably came up
with a smile, equaled matters. Not to
enter INTO an elaborate description Of
each of the 1O6 rounds, it may be safely
said that a ~fercer, fairer fight has rarely
been seen. There were cries of "foul,.'
but a "foul'' was never seriously claimed
by either side. The seconds were smart
in their duty, bringing their men back to
their corners and the umpires, Charles
Johnson for Kilrain, and John Fleming
for Smith, had few difficult points to set
tie. Hard hitting and tough work were
the order, with a concluding throw at the
end of each round, of which the long
American, who is tough and ugly, but
withal an excellent wrestler, generally
had the best.
How this remarkable fight might have
terminated had it been foug ht to a finish,
it is difficult to say. Kilrain undoubtedly
showed qualities that even his hackers
never dreamed of, and had rather the
best OF the fight as they fot into the sec
end hour. On the ether hand, Smiths
determined rushes, indomitable pluck
over and over again raised the hopes OF
his b
s~ULLIvAN's PINTO
In the 1O6th and last round both were
fighting as quickly as at the start, when